Sacred Animal Images in Precontact Southeastern Rock Art

Summary

Walter Klippel has always focused his research on animal remains from archaeological sites, especially from Southeast North America. In honor of his retirement, we review how animals are depicted in Precontact rock art sites from the region he knew so well. A wide variety of creatures—mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, and even insects—were illustrated by ancient southeastern artists. Animal imagery appears in both open air and cave art, although the kinds of animals vary between these two contexts. The animals used most intensively for food, however, were less commonly drawn on rock and cave walls. Animals that were depicted most often were those who could cross between land and water, from the air to the ground, or from the surface to subterranean worlds. We argue for a spiritual aspect to rock art animal images.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20197